Shuffle feed positioner

ABSTRACT

A shuffle feed structure for feeding articles which require cutting into lengths or other operations involving orienting, in which the article advancing faces of the shuffle members include a series of wedge-shaped surfaces for feeding and orienting the articles (such as carrots or cucumbers) so that each article rests against one of the inclined faces of the shuffle feed member and abuts the end face of one of the wedges. A series of the shuffle feed members have their wedges offset laterally toward one side of the machine to produce a feeding action of the articles laterally in the direction of the offset to insure proper orientation of each article into a wedge-shaped pocket. Finally, the articles are carried through a series of knives and are cut into lengths.

United States Patent [72] inventor Trnver J. Smith San Jose, Calif. [211 App]. No. 747,393 [22] Filed July 24, 1968 [45] Patented Feb. 9, 1971 [731 Assignees Genevieve I. Hanscom Saratoga, Calif. a part interest; Genevieve l. Hanscom, Robert Magnuson, and Lois .1. Thomson ,astrusteesoftheestateofkoy M. Magnlmon. a part interest [54] SHUFFLE FEED POSITIONER 7 C laims, 4 Drawing Figs. [52] US. Cl 198/30, 198/33,198/219 511 I'm! c1. ..B65g 47/28, 865g 25/04 [50] Field ofSearch 198/29, 30, 33, 33(Rl), 135,156,157, 218, 219

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,512,844 10/1954 Groshek 198/219X 1,865,086 6/1932 Cutler 198/29 2,787,361 4/1957 Harveyetal..... 198/32 2,908,375 10/1959 Hooveretal.... 198/33(Rl) 3,124,183 3/1964 McLauchlan... 198/33(Rl)X 3,291,173 12/1966 Smithetal 198/219 3,357,538 12/1967 Chamberlin l98/33(R1) Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerRoger S. Gaither Attorney-Allen and Chromy ABSTRACT: A shuffle feed structure for feeding articles which require cutting into lengths or other operations involving orienting, in which the article advancing faces of the shuffle members include a series of wedge-shaped surfaces for feeding and orienting the articles (such as carrots or cucum- PATENTEU FEB 9 |97| SHEET 1 (1F 2 I INVENTOR. ,TRAVER J. SMITH M 41 ATTORNEYS 1 SIIUFFLE FEED POSITIONER DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the handling of elongated articles on shuffle feed mechanisms wherein wedge-shaped pockets are provided in the article advancing face of each shuffle member, some articles have given difficulty in proper orientation because of differences in the end characteristics of the article. For example, with carrots which have one end which is relatively wide as compared with the other end and taper downwardly to a narrow tip, some articles will carry the length of a shuffle feed without dropping into a wedge-shaped pocket. Cucumbers, for example, will tend to form interlocked groups which will feed as groups. The present invention has to do with a lateral feeding of these articles which will align them properly with a pocket and eventually present them in an oriented position in rows, one article to a pocket, at the end of the machine.

It is a general object of the invention, therefore, to provide a shuffle feed mechanism having article advancing faces of wedge-shaped design in which means is provided for feeding articles laterally of the shuffle feed members to effect the desired orientation with respect to the pockets formed in the wedge-shaped surfaces.

It is another object of the invention to provide a shuttle feed mechanism having means for transporting or feeding articles along the transverse dimension of the shuffle feed members to a desired position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a shuffle feed mechanism embodying the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is'a longitudinal sectional view of the mechanism taken in the plane indicated by the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary schematic plan view of the shuffle feed mechanism illustrating its operation with carrots;

FIG. 4 is a. similar view illustrating the operation with cucumbers.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the shuffle feed structure includes an overhead frame which includes respective side frame members and a plurality of crossmembers ll supported on frame posts 12.

The shuffle feeding mechanism comprises two similar movable sets of alternating shuffle members and 16 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which are mounted in inclined position and have a wide upwardly facing article supporting portion and a short upwardly facing article advancing and supporting portion. The set of shuffle members 15 extends between and is secured to opposite frame members 17, and the set of shuffle members 16 is secured on upwardly projecting angles or members 18 from opposite frame members 19. The frame members 17 FIGS. 1 and 2) are supported by four upwardly extending pivoted links 21, one pair on each side, which are each secured to a plate 22 on the frame members 10, and the frame members 19 and their corresponding shuffle members 16 are supported by respective parallel links 23 which are similarly connected in a pivoted fashion to the plates 22. It will be understood that in the usual fashion the shufile members I5 and 16 of the respective sets of shuffle members are disposed alternately in the series of shuffle members shown, and as one set of shuffle members advances in feeding movement, the other shuffle member is being retracted.

The reciprocating drive for the respective shufflefeed members is obtained by drive links 26 and 27 (FIGS. 1 and 2), there being one pair on each side, the drive links 26 being pivotally connected to respective frames 17 and 19 at their lower ends and at the upper end to respective eccentric straps 31 and 32 engaging suitable eccentrics on a shaft 33 which is driven from a motor 34. The articles to be fed to the shuffle feed members, such as carrots or cucumbers, are conveyed thereto by a feed chute 35 of conventional construction.

This type of shuffle feed mechanism is disclosed in the US. Pat. to Magnuson No. 2,792,929 issued May 2l, I957, and also in the application of Ralph K. Daugherty, Ser. No. 736,861, filed Jun. 13, 1968. It will be understood, however, that the invention is equally applicable to a shuffle feed in which one set of shuffle feed members is stationary and the other set reciprocates with respect thereto.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be seen that each shuffle member comprises a base part 36 and a pocket part 37. The pocket part 37 of the advancing face of each positioning shuffle feed member is composed of a series of wedge members comprising a front slanted advancing or camming face 41, and each of these advancing faces terminates at its leading edge at a perpendicular stop face or abutment 42.

Referring to FIG. 3, the means for cutting the articles such as carrots into lengths is shown schematically as a series of rotary knives 51 carried by a shaft 52 suitably joumaled in a fixed position on the frame and driven in a conventional manner. Knives 51 are spaced apart a distance equal to the desired length of cut. Preferably, one knife 51 is aligned in offset relation with respect to each of the stops 42 so as to cut off the end of the article positioned against the stop. These knives 51 are aligned with slots 53 in the endmost cutting flight 54 having a straight article advancing face for carrying the articles into the knives to be severed and to be carried away by the knives.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be noted that the shufile feed members 36 are arranged in groups or separate series from the feed end of the apparatus toward the discharge cutting end. The lowermost group 370 are constructed to have their stops 42 in longitudinal alignment in the direction of feed. A second series or group of the shuffle members 37b are constructed or mounted on the base part of the shuffle member to cause a continuous offset of the stops 42 through this series, the off setting being in succession in the direction of desired lateral displacement of the articles. An article such as a carrot 56a and 561;, as shown, which is not aligned with a pocket and is disposed in overlapping relation to two adjacent wedgeshaped pockets will progress in this fashion until it enters the group of shuffle members 37b where progression of the articles to the left is effected by the receding relation of the stops 42 and eventually causes these misaligned carrots to become aligned with and drop into one of the wedge-shaped pockets. In the last section of shuffle members 37c the stops 42 of each pocket are again in alignment to progress the the articles such as carrots accurately toward the knives 51.

FIG. 4 illustrates a condition which occurs with some frequency in handling cucumbers where the object is usually to cut off the ends of the cucumbers to obtain a uniform length of cucumber or pickle for canning. In this FIG., three cucumbers are shown identified as 57a, 57b and 57c. It will be seen that the cucumber 57a is properly in a pocket with one end against the stop 42 and lying against the cam face 41. The adjacent cucumber 57b is balanced on a comer of a stop 42 having one end resting against the cucumber 57a and the other end partially underneath the cucumber 57c. Frequently, a group of such cucumbers will progress in this position to the discharge end of the machine and so would be improperly cut. When a group of such cucumbers enters the section of shuffle members 37b, the action is that the middle cucumber 57b has its fulcrum point on the stop 42 progressed to the left, and at the same time, the cam face 41 is being progresed out from under the cucumber 57b. Eventually this progression results in the cucumber 570 being forced into the next pocket to the right from that in which it was originally resting. This action tends in part to effect a spreading out of the articles throughout the width of the shuffle feed structure.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 it will be noted that the first, or initial, series of the shuffle feed members 37a has pocket sections adjacent the respective sides of the mechanism where the pockets formed by the cam faces 41 have cam faces 41a of less than full length so that, effectively, in this first section there is one fewer pocket 41 than the width of the machine will accommodate. During the progress of the articles over the shuffle feed members through the intermediate section 37b, the successive offsetting of the stops 42 continue until each cam face 41 provides a full width pocket for the article. Subsequently, during the last section of shuffle members 37c, there is one more full pocket than was originally available in the section of shuffle members 37a. Thus, the effective width of the shuffle feed is widened as the progressing of the articles goes forward and certain excess articles are fed over into the right-hand lane of the shuffle feed mechanism.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that the invention is capable of variation and modification from the form shown so that the scope thereof should be limited only by the proper scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a shuffle feed mechanism for orienting elongated food articles such as pickles, a frame, a first set of transversely extending shuffle members, a second set of transversely extending shufile members arranged in alternating relation with the shuffle members of said first set, each of said shuffle members including an upper article supporting surface and a front artice advancing surface, means mounting said sets on said frame for relative reciprocating movement in a direction to advance an article from shuffle member to shuffle member, the article advancing face of certain of said shuffle members comprising a transverse series of pockets, the bottom of each pocket being formed by a camming surface and one side of the pocket forming a stop at one end of the camming surface, the said pocket being adapted to receive an elongated article with one end in engagement with said stop face and with the side of the object engaged by said camming surface, and said camming surfaces comprising a transverse series of wedges providing a saw tooth construction including a transverse series of article stops to which a corresponding series of camming surfaces lead, at least a portion of said shuffle members having their article stops successively offset toward a side of the machine to effectively progress articles toward that side, whereby articles fed over the shuffle feed mechanism eventually become positioned with an end against a stop.

2. In a shuffle feed mechanism for elongated articles such as fruits and vegetables, a frame, respective first and second sets of transversely disposed shuffle members mounted in alternating relation with respect to each other, operating means for effecting relative reciprocation between said sets of shuffle members, each shuffle member including a front article advancing face and a top article supporting face, said front article advancing face comprising a transverse series of pockets, the bottom of the pocket being formed by a camming surface and one side of the pocket forming a stop at one end of the camming surface, the said pocket being adapted to receive an elongated article with one end in engagement with said stop face and with the side of the object engaged by said camming surface, said shuffle members being arranged in groups from the feed end to the discharge end of the machine, including a first group adapted to segregate the articles from bulk and to align the articles lengthwise with the shuffle feed members approximately one article to a pocket, a second group of said shuffle members having means for progressing articles toward one side of the machine to insure positioning of each article in a pocket, and a third group of said shuffle members at the discharge end of the mechanism serving to progress the articles from pocket to pocket toward the discharge end while maintaining the transversely aligned position thereof.

3. In a shuffle feed mechanism as recited in claim 2 in which the first group of shuffle members has its pockets offset laterally of the machine with respect to said third group of shuffle members to provide one less pocket across the width of the machine in said first group.

4. in a shuffle feed mechanism as recited in claim 3 in which the progressing means comprises successively lateral offset wedge-shaped pockets leading from said first group to said third roup.

5. n a shuffle feed mechanism as recited in claim 3, in which each shuffle member of said first and second groups has at each end a partial pocket less in extent than a full width pocket and the successive offsetting of the pockets of said second group serving to increase the width of one such partial end pocket and to decrease the width of the other partial pocket until a row of full-size pockets is in the front face of the shuffle members of the third group to provide for additional spilling over of an article into said additional pocket, said row of full size pockets of said third group being greater in number than a row of full size pockets of said first group.

6. In a shuffle feed mechanism for articles such as fruits and vegetables, a frame, respective first and second sets of transversely disposed shuffle members mounted in alternating rela tion with respect to each other on said frame, operating means for effecting relative reciprocation between said sets of shuffle members, each shuffle member including a front article advancing face and a top article supporting face, said front article advancing face comprising a transverse series of pockets, the article advancing wall of the pocket being formed by a camming surface and another wall of the pocket forming a stop at one end of the camming surface, the said pocket being adapted to receive an elongated article with one end in engagement with said stop and with the side of the object engaged by said camming surface, at least certain of said shuffle members having a series of articles positioning stops disposed along the transverse dimension thereof, and a plurality of said shufile members having said stops successively offset with respect to each other to progress the articles transversely in the direction of the offsetting of said stops.

7. A method of orienting elongated fruit and vegetable articles such as carrots and cucumbers, which comprises providing a series of definite transversely located positions for the articles, forming transverse rows of longitudinally aligned articles for progression into relation with said series of positions, advancing the longitudinally aligned articles row by row transversely of their length toward registry with said positions, and continuing to advance the articles row by row transversely of their lengths while at the same time relatively moving the row of articles and the series of positions in the direction of the length of the articles to place each article in one of said series of positions, and then advancing the rows of articles transversely of their lengths with each article retaining its position. 

1. In a shuffle feed mechanism for orienting elongated food articles such as pickles, a frame, a first set of transversely extending shuffle members, a second set of transversely extending shuffle members arranged in alternating relation with the shuffle members of said first set, each of said shuffle members including an upper article supporting surface and a front article advancing surface, means mounting said sets on said frame for relative reciprocating movement in a direction to advance an article from shuffle member to shuffle member, the article advancing face of certain of said shuffle members comprising a transverse series of pockets, the bottom of each pocket being formed by a camming surface and one side of the pocket forming a stop at one end of the camming surface, the said pocket being adapted to receive an elongated article with one end in engagement with said stop face and with the side of the object engaged by said camming surface, and said camming surfaces comprising a transverse series of wedges providing a saw tooth construCtion including a transverse series of article stops to which a corresponding series of camming surfaces lead, at least a portion of said shuffle members having their article stops successively offset toward a side of the machine to effectively progress articles toward that side, whereby articles fed over the shuffle feed mechanism eventually become positioned with an end against a stop.
 2. In a shuffle feed mechanism for elongated articles such as fruits and vegetables, a frame, respective first and second sets of transversely disposed shuffle members mounted in alternating relation with respect to each other, operating means for effecting relative reciprocation between said sets of shuffle members, each shuffle member including a front article advancing face and a top article supporting face, said front article advancing face comprising a transverse series of pockets, the bottom of the pocket being formed by a camming surface and one side of the pocket forming a stop at one end of the camming surface, the said pocket being adapted to receive an elongated article with one end in engagement with said stop face and with the side of the object engaged by said camming surface, said shuffle members being arranged in groups from the feed end to the discharge end of the machine, including a first group adapted to segregate the articles from bulk and to align the articles lengthwise with the shuffle feed members approximately one article to a pocket, a second group of said shuffle members having means for progressing articles toward one side of the machine to insure positioning of each article in a pocket, and a third group of said shuffle members at the discharge end of the mechanism serving to progress the articles from pocket to pocket toward the discharge end while maintaining the transversely aligned position thereof.
 3. In a shuffle feed mechanism as recited in claim 2 in which the first group of shuffle members has its pockets offset laterally of the machine with respect to said third group of shuffle members to provide one less pocket across the width of the machine in said first group.
 4. In a shuffle feed mechanism as recited in claim 3 in which the progressing means comprises successively lateral offset wedge-shaped pockets leading from said first group to said third group.
 5. In a shuffle feed mechanism as recited in claim 3, in which each shuffle member of said first and second groups has at each end a partial pocket less in extent than a full width pocket and the successive offsetting of the pockets of said second group serving to increase the width of one such partial end pocket and to decrease the width of the other partial pocket until a row of full-size pockets is in the front face of the shuffle members of the third group to provide for additional spilling over of an article into said additional pocket, said row of full size pockets of said third group being greater in number than a row of full size pockets of said first group.
 6. In a shuffle feed mechanism for articles such as fruits and vegetables, a frame, respective first and second sets of transversely disposed shuffle members mounted in alternating relation with respect to each other on said frame, operating means for effecting relative reciprocation between said sets of shuffle members, each shuffle member including a front article advancing face and a top article supporting face, said front article advancing face comprising a transverse series of pockets, the article advancing wall of the pocket being formed by a camming surface and another wall of the pocket forming a stop at one end of the camming surface, the said pocket being adapted to receive an elongated article with one end in engagement with said stop and with the side of the object engaged by said camming surface, at least certain of said shuffle members having a series of articles positioning stops disposed along the transverse dimension thereof, and a plurality of said shuffle members having said stops successively offset with Respect to each other to progress the articles transversely in the direction of the offsetting of said stops.
 7. A method of orienting elongated fruit and vegetable articles such as carrots and cucumbers, which comprises providing a series of definite transversely located positions for the articles, forming transverse rows of longitudinally aligned articles for progression into relation with said series of positions, advancing the longitudinally aligned articles row by row transversely of their length toward registry with said positions, and continuing to advance the articles row by row transversely of their lengths while at the same time relatively moving the row of articles and the series of positions in the direction of the length of the articles to place each article in one of said series of positions, and then advancing the rows of articles transversely of their lengths with each article retaining its position. 